Droplets of LCL
by Cloud Sage
Summary: Short snapshots of lives in the Evangelion universe. All genres.
1. In Which Asuka Cannot Find Her Shoes

In Which Asuka Cannot Find Her Shoes

Asuka could not find her shoes. She was quite certain she had left them in the hall closet, but after several minutes of searching she still could not find them. She went back to her room and searched under the bed. No shoes. Next she moved to her closet. No shoes. After she looked in the living room and could not find them, there was only one option left.

Asuka stamped towards the kitchen and found exactly what she was looking for. Shinji. She pointed one long finger at him and declared "You've lost my shoes!"

Shinji had just been about to take his first bite of toast. "Huh?" he replied, and nervously dropped the piece of toast as she continued to glare at him.

"You've lost my shoes," she grabbed him by his shirt collar and dragged him out of the kitchen, "and now you're going to find them for me."

Soon Shinji was emptying the hall closet under Asuka's close supervision. When no shoes were found she hauled him to the rest of the house to search. Once, Shinji mentioned that if they kept looking they would be late for school, but she grabbed him by the ear and took him to search the kitchen.

The second time they crossed the living room Shinji tripped over something. Asuka turned towards him to tell him to hurry up, when she realized what he had tripped over. Her shoes. They had been in the living room the whole time. She had not seen them because there was a magazine on top of them.

Asuka snatched the shoes up and hauled the unfortunate Shinji to his feet. "A lot of help you were!" she snapped at him. "Now we're going to be late."

"But…but you said" protested Shinji as Asuka forcefully dragged him towards the door. He barely had time to grab his school bag before she pulled him through the doorway. "My toast…" he murmured regretfully as Asuka dragged him towards the stairs.


	2. Fiery Hot Salad

Fiery Hot Salad

Misato let out a long sigh as she reached the door of her apartment. It had been a really long day. Test after test after test at work. And up at four in the morning. All she wanted to do now was relax in front of the TV with a drink.

She unlocked the apartment door and walked inside. After kicking her shoes off she walked into the kitchen. She dropped the pile of papers she was holding onto the table and went to the refrigerator. As she was about to open the door, something caught her eye. Misato groaned when she realized what it was.

It was the chore chart she had made several weeks ago with Shinji. And it was her turn to cook tonight.

Misato groaned again and opened the fridge to get a drink out. She had promised Shinji that this time she would make something when it was her turn. Misato suspected he was getting tired of take out every time it was her turn to cook. She gulped down the rest of her drink and opened the refrigerator again to look at what was in it. Rice, eggs, a piece of bread, half-eaten containers of take out. She reached back further and shoved more containers aside. A square container near the back held some promising shapes, but when she opened it was just some slightly moldy vegetables. On the bottom shelf she came across some lettuce.

_A salad_, she thought with relief. _Even I can't mess up a salad_. Next to the lettuce was some bacon and she pulled that out as well. Bacon would make a nice topping for the salad. She got out a frying pan, dropped the bacon into it, turned the stove on, and started looking for a bowl to put the salad into.

She was still looking for a bowl when the phone rang. It was one of the technicians at NERV. One of the tests had not gone well and they needed to repeat it. Due to NERV procedures the technician was required to report all the details to her.

Misato only half listened as the technician slowly listed everything which had gone wrong with the test. _Why do they have to call me_, she grumbled to herself, _they should call Ritsuko, she is the one who understands all of this stuff._

The exhaustion from the day started to catch up with her and she almost fell asleep with the technician still talking, but a strange smell hit her nose.

It took the smell of smoke a minute to penetrate her half-asleep mind. _Bacon!,_ she remembered suddenly. She slammed the phone down on the startled technician and ran to the smoke filled kitchen.

Tiny flames had sprouted on top of the blackened bacon and they grew in size even as Misato watched. Before the flames could get any larger Misato grabbed the tub from the kitchen sink and dumped the contents onto the stove. The flames died down with an enormous whoosh of sound and a rush of smoke which filled the kitchen.

Unfortunately, the lettuce for the salad had been in the sink at the time she poured it on the fire. _Ramen again_, thought Misato as she surveyed the messy kitchen and opened a window to let the smoke out.

Sounds outside of the door notified her that Shinji had come home early. She hurried to the door before he could open it. Misato threw the door open and cheerfully told the surprised Shinji, "Hey, I thought we could eat out for supper tonight!"

Shinji gave her a confused look as she quickly closed the door and asked "Is that smoke that I smell?"

She laughed lightly and said "Of course not."

As Misato pushed Shinji towards the stairs she thought to herself that she sure was glad that Shinji had kitchen clean up duty today.


	3. Rei, Beyond Her Mind

Rei, Beyond Her Mind

Replacement is such a simple word, but it has so much meaning. Replacement is what happens when a light bulb needs to be changed or when a piece of clothing is worn out and new clothes are bought. Those are the simple things. What about the more complicated parts? What happens when a body is worn out? Bodies are not meant to be replaced.

Or perhaps they are meant to be replaced.

Even if a body can be replaced, a soul cannot be. It must be transferred from one body to the next because the soul is never replaced.

The first transfer took a long time. Or maybe a short time. When there is no body, there is no sense of time and the mind becomes confused. The in between of transfers feels like nothing and everything at the same time. Memories and thoughts drift like pieces of clouds on a windy day across a sky with both colors and sounds.

It is a good place to be. Being in between is like being in EVA, except everything is more intense and more difficult to hold on to. The world is more spread out and yet compressed at the same time. There is no feeling in the place in between, only being.

Who you are, who you were, and who you are meant to be are all together at the same time. The most recent life shines the brightest and is the easiest to hold on to. Sometimes some of the memories from one body carry over to the next.

The first transfer, all of the memories were gone. In between everything is so easy to hold on to, but being in a body makes everything heavy and the memories fall away as if they were dreams.

The second transfer was different. The time in between seemed shorter and most of the memories seemed to stay. But even though it is the same soul, it is not the same person. Things which seemed important in the last body are not as important in the next body. Each time there is a transfer, a shifting of perspective occurs.

Being transferred is like traveling down a narrowing tunnel. After drifting in a sea of thoughts for so long, it seems like the world narrows suddenly. In between transfers it feels like you have no shape or form, but suddenly there are edges to the world. Sensations return also. Things like cold and pain and hunger. When the narrowing occurs only a few memories can squeeze through the narrow opening. And the ones that are held onto most tightly are the ones which come with you. The world narrows until it seems like it can narrow no more, then it opens up again. But everything is heavy and different.

That is why piloting EVA is pleasant. It reminds you of the place in between where all of the thoughts come together. And for a short time you are whole again.


	4. Leftover Roses

Leftover Roses

There were too many roses. An excessive amount. And Valentine's day had been several weeks ago. Due to yet another angel attack the delivery had been extremely late. And now no one at school wanted to buy the roses.

The horticulture students were desperate to get rid of the flowers since they had already paid for them. Plans were made and projects were discussed about the best way to efficiently sell the roses, but most of them fell flat. Students walking alone in the hallways were liable to find themselves ambushed by masses of overeager horticulture students wielding multicolored flowers. By the second day of this, most people ran the other way when they got even a whiff of a rose.

Unfortunately, they could not be completely avoided.

Shinji was on his way to the office to deliver a note. He was thinking about a quiz he had just taken and was completely unaware of his surroundings. Which was how he suddenly found himself surrounded by armfuls of flowers.

Several minutes later he had been separated from his lunch money and had gained four yellow roses. As the dejected Shinji walked slowly back to his classroom he thought about what he should do with the roses. He could keep them, but then everyone would want to know why he had them. It was better to give them away.

The first person to receive a rose was Asuka. Even though she accused him of giving in to those ridiculous horticulture students and telling him that he was a gigantic idiot for giving them his lunch money she still accepted the flower. The rest of the day she kept the yellow rose close by her side and would not let anyone touch it.

Rei was the next person to receive a flower. Shinji came across her when he was leaving school. She accepted the rose without comment as Shinji stuttered out that he just happened to have the flowers with him, but he wanted to give them to people, not that he meant anything by giving one to her, she was just his friend. Rei listened to him without comment until his stumbling explanation came to a halt. They gazed at each other for a moment, then Rei quietly thanked him and tucked the flower gently into her school bag. He was not sure, but he thought she had smiled as she put the rose into her bag. Shinji watched her walk away until she was out of sight, then continued on his way home.

Misato was the third person to receive a rose. Shinji found her in the living room looking over paperwork and trying to watch TV at the same time. Misato was delighted to receive her flower. She pulled Shinji close towards her and kissed him on the cheek. This embarrassed him so much that as soon as she let go of him he ran off to his room, with Misato's laughter following him.

Once he reached his room, he let his school bag slide slowly off his shoulder and onto the floor as he contemplated what to do with the final yellow rose. He put his things away and set the rose on his desk. After he had put everything away, he still did not know what to do with the rose. He picked it up and lightly touched the petals. Maybe he could keep this one for himself. No one had ever given him any flowers before. He found a tall glass in the kitchen and put the flower into the glass after he had filled it with water.

Maybe people like roses because roses are like people, Shinji thought to himself. Roses have prickly unpleasant parts, but they also have soft, gentle parts.


	5. Serious Business

Serious Business

Makoto Hyuga squinted at the computer screen. There was a clear problem, but he was uncertain how to solve it. He put his chin in his hands and let his eyes wander over the entire screen. Maybe there was something he had missed. There had to be something.

Several seats away, Shigeru Aoba also intently watched the computer screen. Makoto was right, there was definitely something wrong. Shigeru tapped a finger against the edge of the keyboard as he decided what to do next. Makoto had said he could make the next move. He selected a cell on the screen and the computer hummed softly as it processed the input.

Shigeru tapped harder against the keyboard when the information he entered seemed have little reaction. He swiveled his chair towards Makoto and shrugged. Makoto grimaced and turned back to the computer screen. There was still too little information to make a bold move. Makoto thought for several minutes before putting the information into the computer. His input seemed to make as little impact as Shigeru's.

"We could ask Maya." Makoto suggested.

Shigeru shrugged again. "She won't be happy if she sees this, and anyway I think she was going home."

"But she might know how to solve this."

Before Shigeru could reply, Maya happened to walk past the door laden down with a pile of paperwork. Makoto called out to her and she walked through doorway to see what they wanted.

As she set her pile of papers down, she said "I thought we had finished everything for today, did you two find something else?" She walked closer to Makoto's computer. Shigeru edged carefully away as she came closer.

"Aaahh!" she exclaimed as she saw the computer screen. Shigeru ducked under his desk. "Chess!" she shouted as she pointed at the screen. "Every time you two have so much as a free moment this is all you do; I can't believe that you're still at it! Was your three hour lunch break not enough?" She crossed her arms and glared at them. Shigeru gave her a winning smile from under the desk and Makoto also smiled brightly.

After her glare seemed to have no effect, she sighed and went to pick up her papers again. "You know, the Magi have better things to do than to play chess with you two, and anyway Dr .Akagi doesn't like it."

Shigeru called out from under his desk, "Hey, chess is serious business!"

Maya rolled her eyes and walked out of the door.

"See" Shigeru said, "I told you she was not going to help."

Makoto shook his head, "She might have helped us; you just didn't want her to dump a box of paper clips on you again."

Shigeru got back into his chair with as much dignity as he could muster. "I have no clue what you're talking about."


	6. Capillary Expansion

Capillary Expansion

Shinji sat down slowly at his desk at school. There was something that had seemed important to remember about today. What was it? His gaze flicked around the room as he tried to remember. The huge room seemed even emptier without having the full capacity of students. A movie, Shinji thought to himself as he noted the addition of a TV in the room, they were watching a movie today. He let his gaze continue to drift around the room until it came to the window. A view of the other side of the school building and a concrete walkway with a few sparse tufts of grass were the only things which could be seen. Why was Rei always looking out there when there was nothing to see?

He shook his head as he readjusted the ear pieces of his music player. There was no way he was ever going to figure out what was going through Rei's mind, much less anyone else's mind. As he took his books out of his bag and turned off his music, the room suddenly seemed to shrink in size as Asuka bounded inside. She regally took in the room then pointedly sat at a desk as far away from Shinji as she could possibly be. Shinji shut his eyes in irritation. It had been one of those crazy mornings. Asuka had stayed up late last night and did not want to get up for school this morning. Only after Misato had yelled at her door three times had she gotten up, and then she took her loss of sleep out on the rest of them.

Misato had recommended that Asuka go to bed earlier, but all this had done was cause an argument which increased in volume until Shinji had walked into the kitchen. He had gone to the kitchen to eat his toast, but decided to take it with him when Asuka started complaining that he was breathing too loudly. When he asked what he was supposed to do about that and she suggested that he stop breathing, he knew it was time to leave.

At least they were watching a movie; that would make the day go by faster. With difficulty he pulled himself out of his thoughts in time to hear the teacher tell everyone to move to the front of the room. Rei silently sat in the desk to the left of him and Asuka nosily pulled out the chair to the right of him. He started to scoot his chair incrementally closer to Rei so that Asuka would be further away from him, when he felt Toji's heavy hand on his shoulder. Shinji turned around to see the twin grins of Toji and Kensuke.

"Be sure to pay attention Shinji" Toji said as someone turned the lights out.

Shinji gave him a puzzled look before he turned around. He had not heard the title of the movie, but he understood their grins when the movie started. He groaned inwardly when he realized the movie was about human development. These movies always made him uncomfortable. Shinji eyed Asuka and scooted another inch closer to Rei. He had the feeling that by the time the movie was over Asuka was going to give him several large bruises.

He was right about the bruises. Not even ten minutes into the movie, Asuka stamped on his foot. He bit back a yell and pulled his injured foot out of her reach. "What was that for?" he muttered. She did not even answer just glared at him.

When diagrams appeared on the screen he started to feel his face heating up. Rather than look at the screen or Asuka, he turned towards Rei thinking that she would be looking out of the window like she always did. Unfortunately, Rei happened to be looking his way and their gazes met. The narrator in the movie mentioned something about becoming a mother and Shinji blushed harder as he remembered the rather thoughtless comment he had made to Rei the other day about her acting like a mother. Rei seemed to have remembered the same thing as a delicate pink spread across her pale face. They looked away from each other and Shinji turned his attention back to the screen to see if the diagrams were gone yet. They were not gone.

Instead they had gotten more detailed. Asuka gave her silent disapproval of his attention to the screen by throwing an eraser at him. After automatically picking it up and handing it back to her, he realized that it was best not to provide her with more ammunition after the eraser hit him a second time.

After the eraser attack, he decided it would be best if he only looked straight ahead at the screen. This worked until the video ended and the lights were turned back on. His face had not lost its red hue and unfortunately those around him seemed to think his blushing was for a reason other than embarrassment. The two behind him asked him if he had enjoyed the movie, but before he could reply Asuka stepped on his other foot. He was saved from having to respond to either of them when the bell rang for the end of the first class.

At least, he thought to himself, neither of the other two pilots were in his next class. Before he had taken more than five steps out of the door, Rei caught his arm and asked him where he was going. He pointed down the hallway in the direction of his next class, but she silently took him the other direction as Asuka stamped along behind them.

Oh yes, he thought resignedly. Another sync test today. Probably the one with the simulation bodies. Nothing could go wrong with this test. It's not like an angel could infect the computers or something like that. Right?


	7. Patience

Patience

The first thing Shinji noticed as he walked in to Misato's apartment was the absence of sound. This was unusual because by the time evening came both Asuka and Misato were usually back. Shinji dropped his books on the table and went to see if anyone had left him a note on the refrigerator about where they were. When he entered the kitchen he was surprised to see both Misato and Asuka looking into a cardboard box on the floor.

Misato greeted him and gestured for him to join them. Shinji moved closer and peered into the box. Inside was a thin grey and white striped kitten. Shinji gave Misato a questioning look and in response she said "This little guy is just a temporary guest, one of the secretaries found him the other day and she will be his permanent owner, but first she has to get permission from her landlady to see if she can keep him."

While Misato was explaining this to Shinji, Asuka reached into the box and scooped the kitten up. She put the kitten close to her face and examined it closely. "It's kind of scrawny" she said as she hefted the kitten up and down to feel how much it weighed. "It almost looks like Shinji and-." Her sentence went unfinished as she let out a yell of pain. The kitten had decided it did not like being waved around in the air and had dug its claws in. Misato took the kitten from Asuka, set it down on the floor and it promptly darted under the kitchen table. Asuka glared at it and stalked out of the kitchen. "I like dogs better anyway" she said as she left.

Misato shook her head and went over to the refrigerator. She opened it and took out one of the fish which was normally reserved for Pen-Pen. As she cut the fish up and put it on a plate she told Shinji "I don't know if he likes me either, he seemed kind of nervous on the car ride home."

"Maybe he just doesn't like to be moved around."

"Maybe" said Misato with a shrug. She took the plate of shredded fish and set it under the table. The kitten sniffed hopefully in the direction of the plate, but did not move closer to it. Misato watched the kitten for several minutes, but after it did not move she left the kitchen and reminded Shinji that it was his turn to wash dishes tonight.

Shinji got up from his sitting position on the floor and made his way over to the sink. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work on the dishes. His mind started to wander and he was surprised to hear a noise as he put the last of the dishes into the drying rack. The kitten had finally decided to start eating the fish. Shinji dried off his hands and sank down to the floor to watch the kitten eat. After it had finished, it eyed Shinji uncertainly as if it was sizing him up. As Shinji looked back at it he noticed that it was more of an adolescent rather than a young kitten. The paws were very big as if the kitten had not had time to grow into them yet and the fur looked like it had both patches of fluffy baby fur and sleek grey adult fur.

Shinji moved a couple inches closer to the kitten. The kitten continued to watch, but did not move. Shinji moved another couple inches until he was almost close enough to touch the smooth fur. He stretched out his hand and the kitten cautiously moved forward to sniff his fingers. It must have approved of Shinji because it moved in close enough for him to run his fingers down the grey and white stripped fur. Shinji shifted his position on the floor and the kitten froze in alarm. After holding very still for a couple moments the kitten relaxed again and Shinji resumed his stroking.

It was very soothing to sit on the floor in the quiet kitchen with the kitten. Shinji lost track of time as the kitten started to purr and moved in closer to curl up near his knee. When Misato looked into the kitchen several hours later she found Shinji curled up in sleep, his hand around the kitten which was also asleep near his chest. She smiled and went to get a blanket. She gently placed the blanket over Shinji and the kitten and as she left she thought to herself that Shinji had something that he probably valued little, but had put to good use: patience.


	8. Thoughtful

Thoughtful

Rei slowly walked up the steps towards her apartment. It was dark outside, but she knew the way so well that that the many burned out lights in the stairwell did not bother her. The stairs spiraled upwards out of sight as she glanced upwards before getting off on her floor. She unlocked her heavy door with a silver key and the door swung shut behind her as she took off her shoes.

The books and papers she was carrying were placed on one of two chairs at the small table in the bare kitchen. Rei sank into the other chair and pulled a blue piece of paper towards her. It had only numbers on it, but the numbers were a code for her schedule for the week. She scanned the paper and saw that once again they would be making more clones. The blue paper was placed on top of the other papers after she had finished reading it. She closed her eyes and sank deeper into her chair. She did not mind being present for any of the experiments they were doing, but the effects of the experiments were disconcerting.

Rei remembered the first time she had seen one of the clones. It was like looking into a mirror with distortions so minor that they seemed to be almost subliminal. Every feature of the face was perfectly formed, but the eyes were dull and blank. The scientists who were present were delighted by the perfect replication of the clone and Rei had nodded her assent when they asked her if the clone seemed amazing. She left while they were still congratulating each other and when she got home she went to her one mirror to study her eyes. They were different than the clone's eyes, but what made them different? Was it being alive? Being able to have thoughts? Having a soul?

Other things were disconcerting too. Ikari. Both of them. She was sure she had met Shinji somewhere or seen him before. He seemed so familiar. Gendo was familiar too, but maybe that was because he had always been around. There were times when memories of both of them seemed just out of her grasp. If she could ever remember her dreams she was quite sure that both of them would be there.

Why did it matter? What was the point of making all of these clones? Gendo had told her what he believed would be the ultimate destiny of all humans. If they were destined to all become one then why was she still alive? What did they need her for? She let her thoughts drift away for several minutes while she stared out of the window which looked out to the apartment building next to this one.

What was the purpose of individuality? Each person she knew had their own individual personality and their own likes and dislikes, but what did that ever accomplish? Would it be better if everyone was the same? What if individuality was what made everyone happy? Is that why they were all separated?

Rei was uncertain if this was the right answer. The few times she could remember feeling happy were all associated with EVA. At the same time it also repulsed her. The entry plug smelled like blood and the enclosed space was almost too small. She opened her eyes and stretched out her pale hands in front of her face. There she could see her blood through the skin of her hands. The veins on the surface of her hands looked almost blue against the white of her skin. The blood that she needed and hated just like the EVA was inside her. She needed it even though she did not like it.

She clenched one hand into a fist and watched blood start to gather in the veins. There were other things that people needed to keep them alive. Something to work towards. Goals. If there were no more individuals would there only be one goal or would there be no goals at all? If everyone was one individual would there be thoughts and feelings? How could you have preferences if everyone was the same?

Rei did not understand any of it.


	9. The Bicycle

The Bicycle

Shinji heaved a sigh of relief as the bell rang. It was finally the end of the week. School always seemed to drag on forever on Fridays. This week had been especially long because for the last several days the pilots had been doing tests every day after school. Shinji stuffed his books and papers into his bag and left the classroom as the rest of his classmates talked to each other about their plans for the weekend. When he walked down the steps outside, he saw Rei walking ahead of him and carrying an enormous stack of papers in addition to her school bag. As he watched her walk down the sidewalk, several of the papers drifted off the top of the pile and landed next to her. Rei set down the larger stack of papers, but these started to blow away as well. Shinji ran over to help her before all of the papers became scattered over the lawn of the school.

She said nothing as Shinji came over and started to pick up the papers with her. When all of the papers were neatly stacked again she gave him a brief glance in acknowledgement of his help and started off towards her apartment. Within several minutes the same thing had happened again as the wind picked up. Shinji reached out and snatched a stray paper out of the air as it floated by him. He walked over to Rei again and said, "Umm, I don't think that this is going to work." Rei said nothing. Shinji helped put the stack of papers back together again. As he handed her the last paper he suddenly thought of a way to help her get home. Near the front of the school were several bicycles which had been abandoned after their owners had moved out of the city. Anyone was free to borrow one as long as it was returned to the school when a person was finished using it. "Wait here" he told Rei, and ran off to select a bike.

There was only one old blue bike left with squeaky breaks, but it was better than nothing. Shinji rode over to Rei and put some of the papers in the small basket on the front of the bike. Rei gathered up the rest and squeezed onto the seat behind Shinji. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes" she replied. She put one arm around his waist and gripped the rest of papers tightly. Shinji sucked in his breath sharply as her hand gripped the front of his shirt and she leaned in closer. He had never liked it when people got too close to him. Shinji almost got off of the bike, but he had promised to help her so he started to pedal.

At first, all he could think about was how close she was to him. He could feel her arm around him and every time she moved he would flinch and the bike would jerk in another direction. They passed through the streets of the city with the breaks squeaking on the bike every time they went down a hill. Eventually Shinji became used to Rei's presence and started to enjoy the ride. The breeze from their passage was pleasantly cool and the bike moved smoothly along the sidewalk. He could smell the scent from her hair, but he decided that he liked the smell. It smelled clean, almost like after it had rained. Asuka and Misato tended to have shampoo that shouted FLOWERS! He always avoided the bathroom after one of them had taken a shower because the smell was so strong that he felt if he breathed in too much the scent would knock him out.

They arrived at Rei's apartment in a surprisingly short time. The bike squeaked to a halt and he gripped Rei's hand as she jumped off the bike. He collected the papers from the basket and turned to follow Rei. Rei had her other hand out to accept the rest of the papers from him, but Shinji shook his head. "I'll take them up to your apartment." She seemed surprised that he would bother to that, but she turned and went to the elevator. The doors opened immediately and they both stepped in. The ride upward was silent as both of them watched the numbers of the floors slowly move past.

They walked into her apartment and Shinji set the stack of papers down on her table. Rei set down the other stack. Shinji walked back to the door and was reaching for the handle when he felt Rei's hand on his wrist. He turned back to look at her and took a step back at her gaze. They looked at each other for a moment, then she said "Thank you Shinji."

"Err, you're welcome."

Rei closed the door and listened to Shinji walk away. She touched the handle which he had touched moments before and then went to the kitchen. This was the first time she had called him by his first name. The second time she had thanked him.

Outside, Shinji pushed the kickstand back with his foot and got on the bike. He pushed off and took a deep breath of the air. As long as he had the bike he might as well enjoy it. He turned to take the bike to a nearby park.

Rei opened the tiny window in the kitchen. She was not on the bicycle, but she still wanted to feel the wind in her hair.


	10. Laundry

Laundry

The power was out…again. Everything always worked perfectly as long as there were no problems. Except, there always seemed to be problems. And those bigger problems led to little problems. Like laundry. No electricity means no power for the washing machine. So everyone was doing laundry by hand. But not everyone was happy about this.

"This is stupid" grumbled Asuka. No one disagreed with her. She continued to mutter under her breath as she dumped an enormous armload of clothes into a huge bucket of water. Shinji and Misato each added another armful of clothes and Shinji poured some soap on top. He started to mix the soap, water, and clothes together with his hands. The warm water felt good on his hands as he swirled everything together. He continued mixing, but after a couple of minutes he noticed that he was the only one doing any work.

"A little help?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm rinsing" Misato replied.

"I'm hanging everything out" said Asuka.

Shinji sighed and went back to mixing the clothes and water together. The other two left him by himself. Within fifteen minutes he was done and he started to move the clothes to another bucket to rinse.

"Finished already?" Misato asked from behind him.

Shinji jumped in surprise and fell into the bucket. Asuka appeared behind Misato. "You're supposed to wash the clothes, not yourself."

Shinji started to get up, but Misato put a hand on his head and pushed him back down. Misato turned to Asuka and said thoughtfully "You know, it would save Shinji some time if he just washed his clothes and himself at the same time." Asuka grinned back at her, grabbed the box of soap and daintily sprinkled it on top of Shinji.

"Uhhhh…." Shinji started to say, but was stopped when what might have been a shirt landed on his head. Asuka and Misato laughed.

"You agree with us, right Shinji?" asked Misato.

"Ummmm…"

One of them dumped some cold water on him and the other one started scrubbing. It was not so bad. He imagined that this was what a massage would be like, only if the goal was to scrub all of the skin off of the body. It was over quickly, and then they were hauling him out of the bucket.

"Now we have to hang him out to dry." Shinji gave them an alarmed look, and tried to wiggle out of their grasp. It was no use; they started to drag him to the balcony. Asuka opened the sliding glass doors and Misato dragged Shinji outside. "OK, on the count of three we hang him over the railing." Shinji just stared. They were kidding…right? "One." "Two." But they never made it to three. Both of them were laughing too hard. Misato finally stopped laughing and pushed him into one of the chairs. "I'm sorry Shinji, the look on your face…" she dissolved into laughter again. When she stopped laughing for the second time she affectionately patted his cheek and said "We will do the rest of the laundry for you." Misato pulled Asuka back inside and he heard them walk away.

He pushed his wet hair back from his forehead as he started to wring his clothes out. Maybe he should have had an apartment to himself. At least they had not hung him out to dry.


End file.
